what do you call a Shepherd's Pie made with Pork?

Do you have any ideas? I can't get further than Piglet Pie ...

It's really hard to make anything made with mince look attractive on the plate. Green veggies help, but honestly, the colour is in your mouth not in your eyes!

I made this by frying pork mince and pancetta, with onions and celery, adding gravy made with fabulous Essential Cuisine veal stock powder and some white wine. Creamy buttery mashed potato finished it off.

My personal view is that any form of shepherd's/cottage/piglet pie must be cooked long enough, and in a hot enough oven for the gravy to bubble through and form a sticky mess on top of the potato at the edge. That bit is MY bit.

Thank you very much.

Rack of lamb... Sunday Dinner on a Thursday....

Delicious little rack of lamb, started in my black enamel pan that I bought in Spain many years ago. I love that pan for things like this, I can sear them all over on the hob, then move the whole thing into the oven to carry on cooking.  

A little rack of 7 bones will feed two, and takes 20 mins on highest heat after a good searing, so make sure that you have put the potatoes in to roast at least half an hour before that.  After the 20 minutes, take the rack out and rest it whilst you use the pan juices to make the gravy. It needs a nice 5-8 minutes sitting under a hat of foil to be gently pink inside.

If you like it pinker then either cook it on a lower heat or give it a little less, but not too much or you'll have raw lamb. Which is not nice.  And which will incur the wrath of any Masterchef judge. Obviously, if you like it very well done then give it a bit longer, and make sure you rest it well.

Back and eating chicken again......

I've been away for a bit, as summer eating was so often meat and salad and then more meat and salad, and it felt so boring to repeat myself all the time.

But autumn is here!!!  Hot food, and veggies and sauces and all kinds of things.

So we are off and at 'em again. And to start here is yesterday's  dinner, pan fried then roasted chicken thighs, with a sauce of sliced mushrooms and capers - basically, you fry mushrooms in the chicken pan, then make your normal chicken gravy in the same pan, and add in a couple of spoonfuls of capers.

Really delicious for very little effort.